Sunday, August 02, 2009

Welcome to the Month of August- I did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 81 and 106 degrees, a slight breeze, humidity around 26 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 104. North northwest wind between 3 and 8 mph. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. West southwest wind between 7 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.” I’m going to keep this post short! I mostly kicked back reading the magazines that Linda Dehart brought over a few days ago. There are some interesting articles in them I want to read. I didn’t feel like calling anyone so I didn’t. George was the only person calling me and needed help with his computer; I spent almost an hour with him trying to resolve the problem. Mat came over for a social visit which was mighty appreciated by me. I didn’t go on my evening walk, just felt like resting today and thinking things over. I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 02- I did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 80 and 108 degrees, a slight breeze, humidity around 24 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 104. West wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. West southwest wind between 6 and 11 mph.” I finally finished the “Network Concepts” book, yea! Now I can get to studying something else that interests me. Let me see; I have “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” and the “Linksys Wrt54g” book on wireless routers waiting to be read. I still have a few chapters in “Entanglement” to read, so maybe I’ll begin both when I get done with it.I went for my evening walk and finished the lecture by Professor Bloom on hydrogen fusion in stars- the Proton-Proton Process and Hydrostatic Equilibrium. When I got back I laid down for just a minute and fell asleep to awake at 9pm! I started reading “Entanglement” but Kevin called and we yakked for a spell. I continue, and probably finish, the book tomorrow.Joel came by with my mail and a nice thank you card from the fourteen year old girl whom I fixed her computer for free. She made the card herself and it was quaint, telling me how happy she was and grateful for having it fixed. I think I’ll pin it to my wall! It made me feel mighty good! Joel also brought me a whole apple pie that made me feel mighty good, too!I decided to take out the 8Gig drive on one of my Dell Mini 9s and replace it with a 4Gig and install Ubuntu Linux on it. Ah, such fun! I did the updates for it once I had it installed. Then I installed Kstars onto it. Now I have my astronomy program that I like using! I had it installed on the Asus EEE 701 but it didn’t run right for some reason.I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 03- I did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 104 degrees, a slight breeze, humidity around 25 percent, clear morning skies then evening clouds.According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 101. West northwest wind at 7 mph becoming east northeast. Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. West southwest wind between 6 and 11 mph.” I did some online work; updated Joel’s Iron Eyes Cody websites and created a front page for one, tried to clear out some email correspondence, and a few other things I needed to get done. Dang, I forgot to update the darn calendar on the Copper Mountain Mesa website! I’ll do that tomorrow.Stoney wasn’t feeling well today and I called him several times just to say hi. Denny his son-in-law came down for a few days and I’ll probably go there tomorrow for a visit.I was about ready to go on my evening walk when Ron the graphics designer came by to drop off an Operating System I needed for a friend’s computer. We yapped for a while until after the sunset and it started getting dark. He walked towards the front gate to leave and I followed him out expecting him to drive away in his truck, but it wasn’t there! To my relief he said he walked over from his home less than a mile away. I walked home with him and said that anytime he wants to go for an evening walk he is welcomed to come on by my house to walk with me.I spent the rest of the evening reading “Entanglement” and finished late in the night. I had enough time to do my stretches, practice my guitar, write my column for the newspaper and send it to them. Then I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 04- I did my stretches and ran a mile.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 84 and 108 degrees, a slight breeze, humidity around 32 percent, low stratus clouds bringing a few sprinkles.According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph increasing to between 18 and 21 mph. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind between 13 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.” A few days ago I got together with the Activities Committee to put together the Spring/Summer newsletters and send it out. Unfortunately all were sent back for a variety of reasons and I went to Steve Tuttle’s home to pick them up. I spent an hour or so there jawing with Steve while he gave me the grand tour of his property. I have to say that I was pretty impressed with what he had done. As I was leaving we started talking astronomy. We decided sometime in the future to have a sky party at the community center, cool! As we talked it started to sprinkle!I took the newsletters to Annelies’ house where we divvied them up amongst the committee members and I took my share of them home and did the repairs that were needed to get them mailed correctly.I went over to Stoney’s where Denny made Sloppy Joes that were mighty good. I think I ate more than I should of, so I went for an evening walk when I got back home.I was going to watch “Nova” and “Nova Science Now” on PBS but they had a pledge hour with “Backstage with Mary Poppins” and then “Motown Memories”. I was a little annoyed and turned the dang TV off and did a little upkeep on my laptop. FedEx delivered an HP 4Gig mini mobile drive this evening and I transferred my docs onto that.I played a Mahjong puzzle, one of the difficult ones, which took me twenty minutes to solve. I haven’t done one in over fifteen years! I felt pretty good about that!!!Kevin called and we chatted for a spell.I did my stretches and lifted weights, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 05- I did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 and 106 degrees, winds from the NW-SW 6 to 12 MPH, humidity around 24 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 96. Windy, with a west wind 13 to 16 mph increasing to between 29 and 32 mph. Winds could gust as high as 48 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66. Windy, with a west wind 30 to 33 mph decreasing to between 17 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph.” I was reading the news and I noticed that Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was released from prison. If you don’t remember her she was the Manson follower who pointed an empty hand gun at Gerald Ford when he was President. It is only note worthy to me because I knew and worked with her brother at a data processing facility in 1980. He had changed the pronunciation of his last name so as no one would recognize and connect him with his sister. He was a very nice and productive soul. It’s too bad that the whole family has to suffer for the wrongs of the one!I went over to Stoney’s and finished off the rest of the Sloppy Joes and ate some ice cream, too! I watched a movie I hadn’t seen since it came out in 1984 called “Ice Man”. A Neanderthal was found frozen in an ice cave for 40,000 years and revived by a group of researchers. The movie was good then and still good now!I went for my evening walk listening to Professor Bloom’s lecture on White Dwarfs and how they are formed.I messed around with a few things, then did my stretches and went on a night run. I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 06- I did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 76 and 100 degrees, winds from the NW-SW 6 to 2 MPH, humidity around 22 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 89. North northwest wind 7 to 10 mph becoming west southwest. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 65. West wind between 9 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.”What a nice day! It seems like the weather is cooling down a bit. I decided to make a run into town and return a Chinese made 12Volt fan I had purchased last week that had abruptly stopped working. They asked me at the returns counter what was wrong and I just said it didn’t work and they gave me my money back. I bought me a small Western Digital 250Gig USB backup drive for all the pictures and other documents I been creating. It does automatic backups but I haven’t found out how to do a restore of them yet. The guitar player was sitting outside playing so I dropped some loose change I had into his helmet; he bought a new moped! Then I went over to Staters Bros for a little shopping. I bought some fried chicken and ate it all once I got home; I’ve been munching out too much lately!I retuned the books I borrowed from Mat. He wasn’t home so I left them on his front porch. I was hoping he was there and have someone to jaw with. Oh well. I didn’t feel like going on my evening walk, so I’ll walk twice as far tomorrow.I spent the rest of the night doing webwork and playing with my new drive trying to figure out the backup software that was included with it.I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 07- My dialup died last night for two hours when I tried to get online and I spent that time trying different things to make it work instead of writing in my journal, so this will be a recap of what happened.I did my stretches.I Installed OSX 10.5 on my MacBook.I went for my evening walk listening to Professor Bloom’s lecture on Neutron Stars.I started studying a book on algebra that’s supposed to be written in a simpler way so one can understand it; we shall see!I watched “U571” one of my favorite submarine movies.I did my stretches and lifted weights.Then I couldn’t get on the internet and called it a night.

Saturday 08- it’s my birthday! I did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 73 and 89 degrees, nice breeze, humidity around 20 percent, clear skies. Another nice and cool perfect day!According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. Calm wind becoming east between 4 and 7 mph. Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 71. South southeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming west.” What I usually do on my birthday is hang around the house doing this and that, and answer calls from my Friends and Family; and I got a whole lot of them, too! I want to thank everyone who called and emailed me birthday wishes! Thanks!!!I had my home phone forwarded to my cell and was able to answer calls as I drove to my mailbox to get any last minute birthday cards. I stopped off to check on my friend’s house who is away on vacation, and then I went to Stoney’s and stayed there for a while.I went for my evening walk listening to Professor Bloom’s lecture on Black Holes, and watched the sunset.I watched the “Chronicles of Riddick” (2004); another one of my favorite movies.I did my stretches and went for a night run, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web (this time the phone worked), and called it a night.

Sunday 09- I did my stretches.I went over to Mat Villarreal’s to yap at him for a spell. He was preparing a birthday party for his daughter Lauren, so I didn’t stay too long.I went for my evening walk finishing the lecture of Black Holes by Professor Blooms.I hung up some shelves in the front room. It looks pretty nice but I still have to sand and varnish the wood. I need to get this and other things done in the house before I lay the new tile I paid good money for.I did my stretches.I didn’t feel like going on the internet, just tired I guess, so I called it a night.

Monday 10- did my stretches. I had awoken mighty late so I must have been tired!Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 76 and 104 degrees, nice breeze, humidity around 19 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Calm wind becoming southeast between 5 and 8 mph. Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. South wind 5 to 11 mph becoming west.” I went to Home Depot to get some lumber and screws to put up more shelves; I was in and out of the store in about twenty minutes. This time I laid the wood on the floor to make sure they weren’t warped.I went over to Stoney’s for lunch and had spaghetti. Then I went on my evening walk listening to a lecture on Galaxies, their discovery, and how they formed by Professor Bloom.I spent the rest of my time trying to setup the wifi system in the house and finally got the darn thing working, yea! That cheered me up some!Talked to Andrew over Skype all the way to England for free!I watched “Castle” on ABC about a kidnapping for ransom. I like the show, I didn’t start watching it until it went to reruns, and I’m glad it got renewed for this fall.I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a night run, practiced my guitar, wrote my column for the newspaper, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 11- did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 78 and 105 degrees, nice breeze, humidity around 25 percent, clear skies until it got dark when high cirrus clouds moved in and ruined the meteor shower!According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Calm wind becoming southeast between 5 and 8 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 78. Southwest wind between 3 and 11 mph.” I went over to Ron Dehart’s and spent about two hours updating his Mac computer. I made sure that everything was working before I left. He has lent me his spare guitar amp to practice on and I thought it was mighty nice of him to do so.I went over to Stoney’s for lunch and had some kind of turkey casserole.I went for my evening walk listening to the rest of the lecture on galaxies by Professor Bloom. What I really need to do is go back and listen to his lecture on Black Holes because I have an idea floating around in my head about virtual particles and entanglement and I want to clarify a few points he mentioned.I set everything up for the Perseid Meteor Shower but some dang high cirrus clouds moved in to spoil everything. I did take out my telescope about forty-five minutes before Saturn set in the west to see its rings disappear; it looks much like Jupiter now! I stayed outside trying to see through the clouds until the Moon crept up in the eastern sky. I talked to Kevin in Tucson who was having better luck then I spotting meteors lying on top of his SUV. I only seen a few meteors, two satellites, and jet aircraft from the Marine Base buzzing around, but it was still fun!I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 12- did my stretches and ran a mile.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 and 106 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 28 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming south southeast. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 75. Southwest wind between 13 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.” I was all prepared to help Mat with a project that he is doing; I got up early, showered, and basically planned my whole day around him. He called to tell me he had to get registered for classes at our nearby college and didn’t know when he’d be back, so that kind of wiped out all my planning for the day. But no great loss because I worked on my house’s electrical system installing three new electrical sockets.Kevin called to tell me that Mom was in the hospital after having a heart attack and would call me back after he assessed the situation. I won’t know if I need to drive to Tucson until he calls me back.I went over to Stoney’s. Roger Smith had just gotten back from San Diego visiting friends and we jawed for a spell.I went for my evening walk listening to Professor Bloom’s lecture on Black Holes again. I was halfway through my walk when Kevin called to say that Mom is doing fine and wants to go home but the hospital is going to keep her for a few days, whew what a relief! He’ll keep me posted and said there was no need to come to Tucson. I’ll give her a call in a day or two.I decided to watch a movie to get my mind off of current events and I chose “Sahara” one of my favorite films. Then I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 13- did my stretches and lifted weights.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 80 and 104 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 29 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Calm wind becoming south southwest between 10 and 13 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 71. West southwest wind 18 to 21 mph decreasing to between 8 and 11 mph. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.” I got an email from my Sister Paula saying that she and her husband Mark watched “Sahara” to get their mind off current events last night just like I did! What are the odds of that happening? I got a call from Kevin saying that Mom was out of intensive care and moved to a ward where they can monitor her. It seems like she’ll be okay now and will probably come home in a day or so. This whole heart attack thing put the scare into all of us!I talked to my good friend Kula who is driving back from Los Vegas after she and her friend lived it up there. I told her of my Mom’s problem and we had a long chat.I did some work on the shelves I putting in the front room, rounding off the edges and getting them ready to sand and paint. Then I went over to Stoney’s for lunch; barbecue ribs were on the menu!I went for a short evening walk because Kevin called as I was about to go out the door. The Sun was almost down before I left. I did get some nice pics of the sunset! I may post one here tomorrow.Mat came by for a chat and we went for a ride through the neighborhood yakking about this and that.I loaded up Ubuntu 8.4 on the Asus EEE 701 but it wouldn’t recognize the wireless drivers or camera, so I thought I’d be smart and use the Ubuntu 8.4+ that came with my Dell Mini 9 to see if that would work; it didn’t. I even loaded up Puppy Linux 4.5 but it wouldn’t see the driver either, so I ended installing the Linux that came with the system that isn’t very good. There is an Ubuntu especially made for the EEE but it’s a large download.I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 14- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 and 102 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 27 percent, smoggy skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 94. West wind between 7 and 10 mph becoming calm. Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 68. West northwest wind between 6 and 9 mph.” Wow, it’s Friday already! Time just sneaks by me sometimes. The air was filled with a smog type haze that smelled like something had burnt somewhere. I checked online but could only find a story about a fire way up north in Santa Cruz.I sanded and varnished my shelves for the front room. They look pretty dang good, too! While I was doing that I did the updates for the Asus EEE 701 and read some magazine stories in “NewScientist”; one of the magazines that Linda left me. There was a great story on Nautilus and how they are able to fill chambers in their shell to become buoyant and rise to the surface at night and return to the bottom during the day.I went for my evening walk re-listening to Professor Bloom’s lecture on Black Holes. Something caught my ear on one of his lectures about black holes, Hawking radiation, and virtual particles and I wanted to revisit the lecture. I was wondering if entanglement of these two virtual particles would be possible, after they become "real" particles. One gets sucked into the black hole and the other goes on its merry way. I think that would be interesting to find out what the spin would be, on the one that didn’t get sucked in.Kevin called to give me an update on Mom’s condition. She is awake and taking visitors now. That’s a good sign!I watched “Aliens” to get my mind off all the stuff that’s going on. I wonder if Paula and Mark are watching it too.I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter ,wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 15- did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 101 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 22 percent, smoggy skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm. Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west.” I went right to work putting in a box for my fan that connects to my bedroom and the front room. I had made it out of drywall some years ago and it just didn’t look none too good. So I took all that off and replaced it with wood. It was a bigger hassle that I thought it would be because I had to take half the wall down to make it fit. This took more time but it ended being done right.I went over to Stoney’s for lunch and to take a shower; hot water on my aching muscles did wonders!I went for my evening walk re-re-listening to Professor Blooms lecture on Black Holes. On my post yesterday I told you about my idea of adding Entanglement to Hawking radiation, and virtual particles. This would mean if I’m correct, that you could get information out of a Black Hole; which so far is impossible. Someone somewhere has probably thought about this too and there maybe papers published if there is any truth to the idea, but I figured this one out on my own with what little knowledge I have. As far as I know I could be totally wrong on the concept, but it makes sense to me.I went on line to do some webwork and then I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 16- did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 78 and 100 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 22 percent, still smoggy skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. West northwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 69. South wind at 11 mph becoming west.”I found out where all that smog that’s been hanging around our area is coming from; it’s from a fire in Santa Barbara! Yesterday it was so thick that we couldn’t see any of the surrounding mountains. That’s a long way for the smoke to blow! I’ve not been doing any running or heavy exercises because of it.I spent the better part of the day hanging new shelves in my bedroom. The ones that I’m replacing were just too small and didn’t hold much. This is just part of my remodeling to get ready to lay down the new tiles.I went for my evening walk listening to Professor Bloom’s lecture on the expanding universe.I got a call from Kevin saying that Mom is going to be released from the hospital today, yea!I watched “Deep Impact” (1998) one of my favorite movies despite some of its astronomy errors. Then I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 17- did my stretches and lifted weights.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 104 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 25 percent, still smoggy skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Northwest wind at 8 mph becoming east northeast. Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 71. South southeast wind around 6 mph becoming west.” Chris called from the community center asking me to pick up mine and Stoney’s groceries from the USDA Food Distribution. I headed over and jawed with the folks there for a spell.I spent most of the morning sanding and varnishing the shelves for the bedroom. Then I went over to Ron Dehart’s to work on his computer and yak. There was a program that wouldn’t work and I somehow figured it out and got it running mostly by accident. Hey, I not going to complain and neither is Ron. I stopped over to Stoney’s afterwards to deliver his groceries.I went for my evening walk listening to another lecture by Professor Bloom on the expanding universe. These lectures are almost two hours long and cover a lot of information. I can only hope that some of it seeps into my tiny brain.I watched “Castle” on ABC about a woman who was found drowned in a bathtub full of oil. Then I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, I’ll attempt to write part of my column for the newspaper before I called it a night.

Tuesday 18- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike. I wrote and finished my column for the newspaper and sent it in before I went to sleep late last night.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 80 and 106 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 20 percent, clear skies finally.According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Northwest wind at 8 mph becoming east southeast. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.” I got a wonderful email from Teri from the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County about the blind puppy I rescued from the desert on Thursday 15 2007. I’d like to share it with you and the folks who knew Blind Dog when I had him:“Hi Bob!! We've emailed in the past about Heathen (who had been called Sullivan prior to being adopted), I volunteer for German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County. I'm not the lady who met you and picked him up, but I emailed you a picture once before and thought you might enjoy seeing the latest pictures of him. He looks GREAT!!! I do hope you know what a wonderful thing you did. I read your blog pretty much every day, and still enjoy it as much as ever. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and what his momma has to say about him. Teri D. PerezVolunteer - GSROCGerman Shepherd Rescue Orange Countyhttp://www.gsroc.org

Here are a couple of pix of Heathen. He'll be 3 this October (we set his BD as the 20th--same day as Bill and our little neighbor girl) so he's considered fully grown for a GSD. Size-wise, he was definitely the runt of the litter. He's barely taller than Groucho. He also has a rounded butt instead of the typical slanted silhouette most GSDs have. But his imperfections don't matter one bit. He is cute as a bug and has the personality of a giant! He also knows he's the "baby" of the pack and will whine to get his way... One day I'll take a video of him running his figure 8 patterns in the back yard. Nobody would ever think he was blind by watching him. If he gives a scared sounding bark or yip, his big sister Dolly will get up from wherever she is in the house or yard and come check him out to make sure he's ok. Dolly and Groucho both will move between Heathen and the fence when my neighbor and I are standing there talking. Neither one of them will let somebody who doesn't live in our house get close to Heathen until they check out the person or are given a command to back off. Even though Heathen has used both of them as a chew toy at one time or another, they still take care of him because they know he can't see. Conversely, they will also stand still in one spot in the back yard and let him run around in circles trying to find them. LOL! Sorry this got so long. It was good to hear from you again! Hopefully one of these weekends we'll make it to an event and everyone can see him. Enjoy the pics, and keep up the good work.”

I think Blind Dog looks like he is doing mighty well!!! Sure was hard for me to give him up but he is in a home where he is loved and taken care of. His owners had a blind dog that had died and they were looking for another one at the time. I also played hide and seek with him just like the dogs in the story!I painted some more shelves that needed varnish and did some computer work until it was time to go on my evening walk and listen to another astronomy lecture on the expansion of the universe. When I got back I was about to sit on my bench out front when I saw a Red Racer (snake) going towards the cement pond for a drink. He saw me and stopped until I backed up about ten feet. Then he slithered to the pond, took a long drink, and was on his way.I watched NCIS on CBS, and then did my stretches and ran a mile. I took my telescope out to get a look at the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. All I saw was a fuzzy ball and could make out a few tiny stars, but that was all. Last time I tried to view the cluster a few months ago it was directly overhead and my telescope doesn’t like that. I need better equipment! I then spent a few hours just looking at the stars, a satellite, and a meteor shoot across the sky. It was a nice night.I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 19- did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 81 and 107 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 23 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 104. West northwest wind at 9 mph becoming southeast. Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. West southwest wind between 7 and 11 mph.” I needed to go into town and get some supplies. I stopped off to get gas in JT and didn’t even look at the price, just gave the cashier a twenty for number two pump. I dropped a book off at the library that was across the street, and went to the post office to pick up a package. Got to WalMart and they had all the building supplies I needed to finish the project I’m been working on. Then on to Staters Bros to pick up some food and other items I need. I went in to check out the new Sprint store that is next to Staters to look at some phones. My contract is up in December and I might renew and get a new phone or get rid of the dang thing altogether to save me $32 a month; things are getting tight.I went on my evening walk listening to another astronomy lecture on the expansion of the universe; there are four in this series. I messed around with the computer until late because I’m taking the telescope out tonight. So I did my stretches and went for a night run, and then got the scope out. My mission tonight is to find all the stars that make up the constellation Lyra. Vega was easy to find but the rest are kind of faint. Epsilon is a double-double star but with my scope I could only make out the two stars and not resolve their companions. Beta Lyrae is also a double star; an eclipsing binary that lends its name to the RR Lyrae variables that are used as standard candles to measure great distances because of their regular diming and brightening. They are so close that they exchange matter between each other and I knew that I wasn’t going to resolve that one for sure. Ah, what fun!Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 20- did my stretches, ran two miles, lifted weights, and rode my bike.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 82 and 107 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 21 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 104. Light wind becoming south between 11 and 14 mph. Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind between 6 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.” I varnished the fan enclosure, put up the remaining drywall, and then taped and plastered the whole wall. I haven’t done this in quite a while and forgotten what I was supposed to do; except make a mess! I will go over it again tomorrow and even it out. This took the whole afternoon, it was hot, and I was sweating profusely.I dragged my body over to Stoney’s and took a nice hot shower that loosened my tight aching muscles. It was nice to step into an air-conditioned room after the hot shower! I talked to Stoney for a spell and then I was on my way back home.I went on my evening walk listening to yet another lecture by Professor Bloom on the expanding universe. I lost count on how many lectures on the expanding universe there are; like the universe it’s a big subject!I went to a free online dating service called Plenty of Fish (Kevin talked me into it a few months ago) to look at the women there and update my profile that I had first thrown together. This looks like a nice site to find friends around my area. Hey I don’t get out that much and I think it’s time I do. Well before I knew it the time was 10pm, so I did my stretches and went for a night run.I took out the binoculars for a while and just sat looking at the night sky. I felt rather connected to the universe in a mellow kind of way that’s hard for me to explain. It’s seems so familiar now and I am part of it, always been part of it, and will continue to be part of it; it is so vast and I accept that. Saw more meteors tonight than I did on Aug 11-12, cool!I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 21- did my stretches and ran a mile.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 83 and 101 degrees, winds from the NW-SW at 4 to 14 MPH, humidity around 34 percent, cloudy skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm.” I took the Gross Polluter down to Bar Lumber in Twentynine Palms to get my two five gallon tanks of propane filled. While I was there I picked up some faceplates for the light switches. The humidity was high and the worker who filled the tanks had sweat beaded up on his face and his t-shirt was soaked. On my way back I check a friend’s house while he’s away on vacation, and everything was alright.I got home and did some touchup to the plastering mess I made yesterday. I started reading “Mindscan” by Robert J. Sawyer; looks to be a good read. Then I went for my evening walk listening to another astronomy lecture by Professor Bloom; about Hubble Volumes.I went over to Ron Dehart’s house for a late night dinner. He cooked up some mighty fine pasta. I got back home and read some more of “Mindscan”.I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a night run. I practiced my guitar, updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 22- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 100 degrees, winds from the SE-SW at 6 to 18 MPH, humidity around 47 percent, very cloudy (low stratus clouds) but no rain here.According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south between 7 and 10 mph. Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. West southwest wind between 6 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.” I did some more touching up and also plastered some places I completely missed yesterday. I’m almost done with that part of it and can move on to painting. I still have to build an extension to a desk in the front room and a few other odds and ends to finish before I can lay down the new tile.I called Family and Friends throughout the day. I also read a bunch of chapters in “Mindscan” and it’s getting interesting!I went over to Stoney’s and yakked at him for a spell, then made a stop over to Ron Dehart’s, too.I went for my evening walk listening to the last lecture in the series given by Professor Bloom; about the chances of life being on other star systems and the Drake Equation.I did a little more reading and then did my stretches and ran a mile. The clouds had cleared so I took out the binoculars for a while just gazing here and there and thinking about how vast the universe is.I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 23- did my stretches. I’m pooped out and needed a rest today!Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 97 degrees, winds from the SW at 6 to 12 MPH, humidity around 43 percent, some cumulonimbus cloud (thunderclouds) around but none over head.According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 96. Calm wind becoming south southeast between 6 and 9 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 71. Southwest wind between 5 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.” I didn’t do much today, not much at all. I decided to relax and take the day off. While I was relaxing I hunted down a picture file that I had misplaced and found the sucker on my MacBook. I mostly use PCs but for some odd reason I had put a bunch of files on the Mac. I’m backing up all my files to this really small 250GB USB hard drive that’s no bigger than a pack of cigarettes, pretty cool! I remember back when I worked on mainframes in the seventies and that much storage took up the side of a wall and cost many thousands of dollars. Of course we weren’t uploading tons of pictures and music either.I went over to Ron Dehart’s for a spell and ate the rest of the spaghetti he made on Friday. Then I went on my evening walk not listening to anything to give my big ears and little brain a rest.I got a call from this guy who is interested in our star party that we may have someday. He wants to give a presentation of some sort on the night sky for beginners (and $20 to do it). After I asked him a few questions about the night sky to test his knowledge, I told him it’s just in the planning stages right now and I’d get back to him if we decide we need his services. I believe that the first sky party will consist of a few of us who already have telescopes and know something of the night sky.I went outside for a spell with my binoculars and gazed into the Milky Way. Then I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.Here’s something I wrote in a comment to an online friend’s poem:Ah, you're writing poetry again, cool!Is this a lost love you speak of?Is Daniel someone that you tried but failed to guide to a better life?Poems are like that you know. We reflect our souls into them and they shine right back at us in words of rhyme and reason to comfort us in times of despair, to enlighten us in times of doubt, and to give us joy in times of uncertainty. Poems are our way to express the inexpressible!Bob

Monday 24- did my stretches and ran a mile.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 99 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 27 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Light wind becoming south between 10 and 13 mph. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 74. South wind 7 to 14 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.” I was in the process of finishing up the walls in my front room when I got a call from Ron Dehart telling me that someone is selling a compost toilet for cheap! I’ve wanted one for years but couldn’t afford the high price. I got the money together, jumped in the Gross Polluter and zoomed over to the person’s house who is selling it. I gave them the money, sat around and jawed for a while, and then loaded it all up and drove off into the sunset; well not really the sunset but it felt like it! This is fits perfect with my idea of a solar and green home!!! Now all I have to do is figure out how to install and use it.I didn’t get as much as I wanted done on the walls but I did manage to paint the metal structure foundations that hold up the shelves, but I didn’t mind because I got the compost toilet!I went for my evening walk and took my camera along. There was nothing worth shooting but it was a nice walk.Kevin called and we yakked for a time about his vending business he owns in Tucson.I then went outside to do a little star gazing. I was sitting in my chair looking a Cygnus when a bat fluttered around my head! The bat stayed for about five seconds checking me out and then it was gone. The crescent Moon was going to set and I had enough time to do my stretches, lift my weights, and go for a night run before it set. When I got back from running I got the binoculars to watch it set behind the small mountains to the southwest. It was kind of cool to watch but it is better with the telescope.I watched “Castle” on ABC about brutal diamond thieves that hurt or kill their victims. This show is very good and done very well. I can’t wait for the new season to begin.I practiced my guitar, wrote my column for the newspaper and sent it in; when I sat down to write it I had nothing, not one iota what I was going to write about. A lot of times this happens but I have always managed to come up with something, so far. I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 25- did my stretches. I had a hard time sleeping last night with lots of dreams that kept waking me up. I got up at 7am and rewrote my column that I already sent in to the newspaper because I forgot to include a few items. Then I went back to sleep and awoke around noon. For some reason I felt tired all day today.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 77 and 100 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 28 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Calm wind becoming east southeast between 6 and 9 mph. Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 72. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming west.” I did painting today of the wall in the front room I’ve been working on. Finally I am done with that wall and can move on to other work I have to do before laying down the tiles.I went for my evening walk; just walking and no lectures. Then I watched “Nova” and “Nova Science Now” on PBS; about black holes and fixing the Hubble Telescope.Today was the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s telescope so I thought I’d spend some time outside doing a little star gazing. I wonder what Galileo’s first impressions of the Milky Way were!I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 26- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 79 and 104 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 23 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. North northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 75. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming west northwest.” I mostly worked on the house, plastering the places I had missed, and screwed down all the shelves. I measured the compost toilet and found it will be a very tight squeeze through the doorway leading into the bathroom. I might have to remove part of the shower to get it in, so tomorrow I will paint what I had plastered, clear out the bathroom to make a place for the toilet and then try to move it in. I’ll just have to move it around when I tile because I need to have the shower back together before I do any tiling in there.I met a nice gal called Gail and chatted with her for a spell. She lives in Yucca Valley at a trailer park that has a swimming pool! Then I went for my evening walk not listening to any lectures.I read a few chapters of “Mindscan” by Robert L Sawyer. It’s about a company that developed a way to transfer an exact copy of your mind into a human like robot; the robot takes over your identity and life while you go to the far side of the Moon to a rest home never to return to Earth. The process is really for old folks at the end of their lives, but the main character is only 44 years old. He has an incurable brain disease, has the copy done, goes to the far side of the Moon with a bunch of old folks, and then finds out that there is a cure for his disease that has been discovered. He wants to go home but they won’t let him. Meanwhile back on Earth the robot is having some problems of his own; his dog doesn’t recognize him and bit him; his girlfriend doesn’t want anything to do with a robot; and his mother told him to never come back.I did my stretches and went for a night run. Then I sat outside and gazed at the Milky Way with my binoculars. I like looking at the area around Deneb in Cygnus where I feel that I can make out the dust clouds there. I wonder how many light years those clouds are from Earth.Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, and called it a night.

Thursday 27- did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 80 and 106 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 18 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. North northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 75. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph becoming west northwest.” I had to drive to my mailbox to send out a check for my credit card. I tried to set it up where I could pay it online but it refused to take my account number after I entered it in correctly. I put a forty-two cent stamp on it and ended peeling it off and putting a “Forever” stamp on because I forgotten what the price of a stamp is going for these days. Round trip to my mailbox is twelve miles. On my way back I stopped off at Stoney’s to see how he is doing and we talked for a short time.When I got home I still had to do some touch up of the plaster I did yesterday; when it dried it kind of shrunk down and left cracks and holes. So I hope to paint it tomorrow if it doesn’t shrink down anymore. I did start the process of moving the stuff out of the bathroom so I can move the composting toilet in.I went on my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast - Ep. 144: Space Elevators. The way they describe it, it sounds mighty dangerous!I read a few chapters in “Mindscan” and messed with the computer until the Moon set; not much to look at when the Moon washes out the stars. Then I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a night run.I took out my binoculars and again trained them on that part of the Milky Way where Cygnus is. It was late enough that the Pleiades star cluster was rising in the northeast and the Pegasus constellation was almost overhead. I saw a few meteors, too!Then I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 28- did my stretches.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 81 and 108 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 19 percent, clear skies.According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 107. Calm wind becoming south southwest between 8 and 11 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 76. West southwest wind between 9 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.” My home looks like a hurricane hit the insides after I got done moving everything around to get the composting toilet into the bathroom! I didn’t have to take the shower apart to get it in but had to remove my bedroom door. What a mess! I have boxes, papers, clothes, and other miscellaneous junk scattered all over, and it was hot while I was doing all this work.I finished around 4pm and went over to Stoney’s leaving the place in a mess. I had some clothes to wash and I needed to take a shower; Stoney is kind enough to let me do these at his place. The Space Shuttle Mission: STS-128 was on the NASA station and it hadn’t launched yet and I didn’t know when, so I watched two episodes of “Monk” while clicking back to NASA during commercials. It finally lifted off at 8:59pm PDT and it was well worth the wait. I haven’t watched a Shuttle launch in many years and had forgotten how much preparation goes into fueling it up, strapping the Astronauts into their seats, sealing the hatch, and all the “Holds” they have before it gets off the ground; it’s not like boarding an some airline jet. You know, just strap me in and light her up!I got home late so I did my stretches, updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 29- did my stretches, too dang hot to do anything else .Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 88 and 112 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 30 percent, high cirrus clouds.According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 107. Northwest wind at 9 mph becoming south southwest. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. West southwest wind between 6 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.” Like I said it was hot today, so hot it felt like a convection oven outside and I the turkey that was being cooked. When it’s hot like this you can drink two gallons of water and piss out half a cup! It all just evaporates off your skin. Just turn of a fan and you are your own swamp cooler! I mostly stayed inside doing just that with all the fans in the house pointed at me while I read or worked and played online.I got ready for potluck by cooking up some barbecued beans and cleaning myself up some. We had over twenty-five folks showing up for the Potluck. That was more than I expected on a hot day like this, but the community center is air conditioned and cool inside and it was a relief to get indoors and out of the heat.Ruth Malron brought a jello fruit salad. Marie Morrison’s goulash was a healthy dish. Tom Felix baked a German chocolate cake which was a surprise. Tim Atzei shared his coffee cake with us. Bob Seeley fetched his mixed fruit plate from Stater Bros that was mighty good. Dana Van Noort cooked up this delicious chili verde that wasn’t too hot. Elizabeth Treas had this wonderful zucchini and cheese casserole that everyone commented on. Rose Manish had her peas and carrots. Marcie Hines beef stroganoff was mighty tasty. Chris Jonas made up his famous macaroni salad. And Lisa Treas homemade bun cake was everyone’s favorite! There was a bunch of kids running around inside and out playing games which only kids understand, while the older folk sat inside jawing about this and that trying to outwit or out story each other like only adults do. All in all it was a fine Potluck!I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 145: Interstellar Travel; it seems that ion engines are the only feasible means for interstellar travel with our current technology.I talked to Kevin for almost an hour and then I went back to reading a few chapters of “Mindscan”.I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a night run; a hell of a lot cooler outside at 95 degrees! I practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 30- did my stretches, it’s still too dang hot to do anything else.Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 88 and 111 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 33 percent, high cirrus clouds with smoke in the air from the fires in LA County.According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 102. West northwest wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind between 3 and 10 mph. “Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 107. Northwest wind at 9 mph becoming south southwest. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. West southwest wind between 6 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.” Man, am I tired and I didn’t do anything but read “Mindscan” By Robert J. Sawyer all day and call a few folks. The smoke is hanging thick in the air from the fires in LA County- my eyes are burning from the smoke, and it is dang hot outside! I didn’t even go for my evening walk.I ordered two items from Amazon: Astronomy Today (5th Edition) this is the astronomy book used in the class up at UC Berkeley that I listen to lectures on my iPod, and Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard for my MacBook. The book was used but in good shape and cost $18, and the upgrade to OSX 10.6 was only $29.I did my stretches, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night. That’s it! There isn’t any more! If I had any energy I’d write more.

Monday 31- did my stretches. There’s still a lot of smoke in the air and I don’t want to run in that. Reminds me of Los Angeles back in the late 60s!Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 85 and 109 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 26 percent, high cirrus clouds with smoke in the air from the fires in LA County.According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 102. North northwest wind between 6 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. South wind 7 to 10 mph becoming west.” I finally got a good night’s sleep and started back to working on the house. Mostly I just cleaned up the mess that was made during the plastering and painting of the walls. I still have a little more to paint in the front room but not much. I think I’ll start next on the bathroom where I need to plaster and paint the walls. I need to begin laying tiles down in there first. I want to install the composting toilet and get that working and out of the way. Lee and Marcie Hines dropped by around 3pm to say hi and I noticed that the breeze had shifted and the smoke had just gone away, cool! I hope that it stays away! I went over to Mac’s house for dinner. He made chilimac with lots of cheese on top that was mighty good. His little hyper rat dog kept jumping up on me wanting attention and I gave it to him. Mac showed me a Willys Jeep Wagon that he got off of Craigslist; needs a lot of work, but well worth it! I got home the smoke had come back, dang! I went for my evening walk listening to two Astronomy Cast lectures: Ep. 146: Astronomy Research from Idea to Publication, and Ep. 147: How to Be Taken Seriously By Scientists. Who knows, these may come in handy sometime. I called Kevin and yakked with him for a spell. And then read and finished “Mindscan” by Robert J Sawyer late into the night. Now that’s out of the way I can start on my studies. I signed up for CitizenSky.org a few months ago to help solve the mystery of epsilon Aurigae; anyone can participate and the site has teaching materials that can assist you. I think that’s what one of the “studies” I’ll be doing. I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, but before I called it a night I’ll start writing my column. Good bye to August!

About Me

I
am just a guy out in the desert amazed at the things out here where I
live, the folks I call my friends, and this that we call the Internet.
I am excited to share them with you! I wrote a small column for my
little community in the Hi-Desert Star newspaper for 11 years until February 2011. I created and maintain a community website since 1999 called www.coppermountainmesa.com where I have all the columns I ever
wrote, there's also a page on the website where I write and have some
pictures of my Solar Home.